Where Riverdale Meets the Woods
by SteampunkQueen
Summary: After S1 E13 "The Sweet Hereafter" FP has been arrested, Fred has been shot. Jughead and Betty don't know where they stand, and Archie and Veronica aren't helping. Following the scene at Pop's, Jughead is settling into life as a Serpent and is accepting the jacket he wears. A new family, new school, and new friends. A new enigma arrives and turns their worlds upside down.
1. Chapter One: The Basics

Jughead knew that Betty meant well when she came to "rescue him". He knew that they were on eggshells with one another since his horrible disaster of a birthday party, and he knew he shouldn't have blamed her for what Veronica and Archie did.

But he did. He couldn't handle the thought of being her project. Jughead trusted her when she said she loved him. He believed her, he really did. But…

 _Oh God_ , he thought every time she called, or texted. He didn't know what to do. He started at Southside High, and he liked his foster family. He still visited FP when he could, and he still wrote his novel. But now, he had friends. Actual friends, besides Archie and Betty. And it was such a strange feeling.

So how was he supposed to deal with Betty. Ride it out? Or end it now?

' _One more time, I'll try one more time'_ , Jughead thought. He decided to meet with Betty, Veronica and Archie at Pop's. Archie said it was alright, even after what happened to Frank. So, it was safe for the four, and comfortable. It was common ground.

Jughead got there after the rest of them, he'd been talking to a Serpent and was running late. The little bell over the door jingled and Betty's head turned to meet Jughead's, as did the couple across from her. Betty's gaze lowered to the leather Serpent jacket, and she stiffened.

Jughead sighed, and slowly walked towards the three, sitting in their usual booth. He slid down and next to Betty, keeping a large space between them causing a look from Veronica. He knew that she knew, because Betty would've told her, and that meant that Archie knew too. So, the booth was tense enough that you could cut the air with a knife. Jughead was tempted to try it.

They ordered, and they ate, in a soft silence broken only by the occasional piece of small talk. ' _The weather of all things'_ , Jughead snickered to himself earning a glimpse from the other three.

Betty cleared her throat finally, and glanced at Jughead before her eyes flicked to Archie.

"How's your dad doing Arch'?" she asked in her soft tone. Archie glanced up and saw Betty's wide blue eyes looking at him, and his own brown ones skipped to Jughead before he answered in a similar voice.

"He's okay. They don't have any leads yet on who did it, but they're looking. Some people have sent flowers and cards. Sheriff Keller said something about the West side but we have no idea what he's talking about."

As Archie finished speaking, the bells over the door to Pop's jingled softly and broke the silence in the restaurant as a figure seemed to cringe awkwardly away from the sound, their head tilting back to look up, making the hood slip off the dark green slouch hat, sitting on the persons head. Three figures followed the first, one the same height, one shorter and the other much taller.

The first figure, the one with the slouch hat on shuffled out of the way and quietly spoke to Pop, before he led the four people to a booth directly next to Jughead, Betty, Archie and Veronica's.

The four friends tried to see if they recognized the new figures and the tall one slid their hood off, revealing a boy. He had a long, crooked nose, pale hazel eyes and small scar along the side of his heart shaped face, near his left ear. He looked older than the four friends, and he shook his curly dark hair out, getting rid of the snow that was sitting in it, causing a small giggle to come from the shortest figure, and a shriek from the one who was the same height as the hat person.

"Thooo-ooorn" whined the smallest figure, pulling off gloves and a hat with a **very** , fluffy pom-pom on the end. This was a young girl, she looked about Jellybean's age, mused Jughead. She had tight, short, corkscrew curls, also dark and the same pale hazel eyes as the boy but with the still round chubbiness of childhood.

The third person, the one not wearing the green hat, pulled down their hood and unzipped their jacket before fluffing out their long hair.

"Really Thorn? Are you part dog now?" sighed a girl who looked the same age as Jughead, Archie, Betty and Veronica. She had the trademark dark brown hair- hers was long, seeming to stop just below her clavicles- as the other two, but with caramel highlights mixed into her curls. Her eyes were a dark brown and they seemed to go between that, and the same hazel as the small girl next to her and the boy, Thorn's, also set into a round, heart shaped face. The final figure, the one who had cringed at the jingle of the door, snickered softly while examining the menu in front of them.

"I thought we knew that Cal. You were the one who let 'little miss' over there, beg to take him off the leash." This was another girl, and the boy rolled his eyes before barking at hat girl sitting next to him. She looked up and stuck her tongue out at the boy. Her face made Jughead's heart stutter for a moment before resuming the steady _thump-thump_ it usually held. Jughead rolled his eyes at himself, ' _what in the world Jughead?'_ , he thought as he examined the final girl.

She had all the same features as the other three. Curly dark hair, cut to just under her chin. A rounder face, with dark brown eyes that looked as if they could see right through you, dancing with mischief, as they seemed to change colors. Dark brown, to the same pale hazel as the others, to green, to a dark, almost purple color, and back again.

Jughead knew he was staring and he was only able to look away when she met his eyes and raised a single eyebrow in his direction. Jughead flushed a light pink and returned his focus to his own booth, in which the other three we softly conversing about the newcomers.

"I've never seen them before." Betty whispered to Veronica, who had her investigative look on her face.

"So? Maybe they just moved here. Why do we care?" asked Jughead sharply, glancing at Betty and Veronica. "Not everything is a huge mystery that you two need to solve."

Betty fell quiet and Veronica gave him her 'ice queen' look but remained silent. Archie just looked exasperated and confused. Several minutes passed, and the table of four newcomers stayed relatively quiet.

Pop finally walked over to them with several to-go bags and they stood up to leave. The boy, Thorn got up first and grabbed the bags of food and waited for the girls to get out of the booth as well. The girl with the longest hair stood, and ushered the little one in front of her, whispering for her to catch up to the boy and help him before she followed.

The last girl, with the hat finally slid out of the booth and stood. She glanced at the table where Jughead sat, looking to Archie before she glanced at the other three figures waiting for her. They seemed to be waiting for her to say something, and she took a deep breath before she spoke.

"You're Archie, right?" she asked quietly. Arch' nodded, slightly dumbstruck that she knew his name. "Oh, okay good. Uhm... that makes me feel slightly less awkward." She laughed nervously, playing with her own fingers before blurting out; "We, I, uhm… We're **really** sorry about Frank." The girl turned red and cleared her throat before walking away, towards the three waiting for her.

The girl whom she had called 'Cal' earlier, snickered and gestured frantically at the girl who'd spoken, while Jughead took in their retreating figures. Hat girl had on an old leather jacket, with a wolf on the back, howling at the moon.


	2. Chapter Two: Bouquet of Words

**Thank you to Loren House for pointing out my mistake. Archie's dad is Fred, NOT Frank.**

 **Thank you to nikkicinq92 for motivating me tonight! (09/08/17 12:00)**

 **Music I listened to while writing; Frank Sinatra**

 **I would love some more reviews so I know exactly where I could use some work, and where you all enjoy my writing. You can be as brutal as you'd like, or as gentle as you please. Thank you.**

Jughead pondered the four people he'd seen in Pop's the night before, as he arrived at school the next day. _Who were they, how did they know about Archie's dad, and_ _ **why**_ _am I obsessing over the girl in the hat?_

He shook his head to snap himself out of his thoughts, and glanced down at his phone, seeing several texts from Archie and Betty. He wasn't paying attention, and bumped into someone. Jughead braced himself for an attack, which never came. He looked up, and up some more before meeting a pair of hazel eyes.

"Sorry." Jughead mumbled, and the boy smiled crookedly.

"No problem, it's my fault too." The taller boy said. "I'm Thorn. I'm new. And you were at Pop's yesterday."

Jughead nodded slowly, taken aback at the boy's blunt statement, and stuck his hand out.

"Jughead Jones. The III. I'm new too. Sort of." Thorn tilted his head as he shook Jughead's hand.

"Jughead?" he asked before letting go. "Cool name. It sounds like your parents had as much fun with you, as mine had with myself and my siblings."

Jughead was surprised at Thorn's quick response to his name. Most people took a moment to think about it, to make a comment, or to tease him. He liked Thorn already. Someone cleared their throat from next to Thorn, and both boys turned to look at the girl standing there. She stood impatiently and elbowed the tall by beside her. Jughead recognized this as girl from the night before, with the longest hair. Cal or something. Thorn rolled his eyes before looking at Jughead again.

"The brat on my left here, is Calla-Lily. One of my sisters, and twin to..." Thorn was abruptly stopped as the bell for first period rang shrilly.

"Crap, crap, crap…" Calla-Lily let out a slightly scared whimper as she turned to her brother. "She will KILL us if she finds out we were late. We are so sorry to just bail out on you like this, but..." Calla-Lily was shifting her weight from foot-to-foot as she spoke.

"Hey, will you sit with us at lunch?" Thorn asked of Jughead as he and Calla-Lily began to quickly walk down the hall. Jughead chuckled and nodded before heading to his own class.

The first three periods passed quickly for Jughead, and it wasn't long before he found himself in the cafeteria searching for a table. He spotted Thorn's tall figure seated across the room, his arms flailing as he spoke on the phone. Jughead stopped to buy his lunch before winding between tables and bodies on his trek to Thorn.

Calla-Lily was sitting beside the flailing Thorn, and she had a wide grin on her face as she watched her brother. When Jughead was close enough and sat down, he could hear what was coming out of Thorn's mouth.

"-not my fault! We made a friend! Tell me that you-", he was cut off by a loud and angry female voice on the other end. "I know you pulled a lot of strings to get us here, and to get Orchid placed in the Riverdale district", he paused as the woman spoke again, "and in the assisting position at the high school." Thorn listened to the woman on the other end and gaped like a fish; "Just because you're the Boss, SO does not change the fact that I'm still older than-". He stopped speaking and pulled the phone away from his ear with an annoyed expression before he shut it off and sat down.

"Girlfriend trouble?" Jughead asked, trying to hide his laughter while remaining sympathetic. Calla-Lily let out a belly laugh.

"If Thorn was having relationship problems, it be with a boyfriend." She giggled as Thorn glared at her before he looked at Jughead.

"No relationship drama here. Just my lovely sister chewing me out for being late on our first day. And she didn't forget about you either Cal!" Thorn smirked before Calla-Lily could laugh at him again, and she became pale when he said that last part.

"So, who's Orchid? And why were strings pulled? And why are they at Riverdale high school?" Jughead asked to distract the siblings in front of him.

"Oh! Orchid is our baby sister. She's ten." Calla-Lily responded first.

"Strings were pulled because we're from the Westside, and we needed to transfer schools. As for why she's at Riverdale high; she's a smart kid and likes to organize things, so our other sister got Orchid a 'job' as a TA, I guess. She goes to the high school to help teachers and it helps her stay out of trouble like the rest of us." Thorn was the one who finished the explanation for Jughead.

Jughead was pretty sure he understood, and he asked a few more questions.

"Why did you call your sister the 'Boss'?", Jughead asked with air qoutes around the 'boss' portion. "And are you the oldest of your siblings?"

"I'm the oldest, yes. I'm seventeen. I'm turning eighteen soon. And…" Thorn trailed off and glanced at Calla-Lily with a concerned look before he faced Jughead again. "Look, Jughead. I have no idea why, but I feel like I can trust you. But not here. We can't talk here. We need to be somewhere quiet."

Jughead was confused. _Thorn trusts me? And he has a secret so big, that we have to hide somewhere to talk about it._

Jughead knew, in that exact moment, that he wasn't going to be same after this, after Thorn and his family. But he didn't know that he would become very close to said family, and that his world was about to flip on its axis.


	3. Chapter Three: Fire and Ice

**Thank you again nikkicinq92! I loved reading your review, and I swear you read my mind.**

 **Music I listened to while writing; Rag'n'Bone Man and Panic! At the Disco**

 **Any suggestions, advice, or complaints you have, feel free to let me know.**

 **Thank you!**

Veronica was leaning against her locker across the hall from where Betty stood, organizing her own locker. Veronica opened her mouth to speak, when she heard a feminine voice from down the hall.

"Okay Orchid. Remember that you must listen to Ms Leslie. You're her helper for today, and you'll be sorting her history textbooks on the shelves." Her voice was soft, but deeper than one might expect from a woman. Veronica took two steps across to Betty and hissed in her ear.

"Betty! That's the girl from last night. The one with the green hat that apologized to Arch'." Betty's innocent green eyes glanced at Veronica, before her head turned to look down the hall, her signature ponytail bouncing.

"What is she doing here? How do you think she knew Archie and about his dad?" Betty didn't look away from the girl as she spoke to Veronica, continuing the conversation she and Veronica had had the night before, after Pop's.

"I have no idea. But I think we should find out." Veronica donned her 'snooping' voice as she said this.

"Ladies. What are we whispering about over here? Anything juicy?" This new voice came from behind Betty and Veronica, and when the two girls turned around, Cheryl Blossom stood there. Since Veronica had taken Cheryl home after the incident at Sweetwater, they had become allies of a sort. Not quite friends, but not at each other's throats anymore. Veronica got an evil little smile.

"How would you like to intimidate someone into a discussion with me?" She asked of Cheryl. While normally Veronica would've tried to flatter and sweet-talk information out of someone, this girl knew about Archie and about what happened to his dad. That wasn't a good sign. Throw in that no one outside of Riverdale knew about the shooting, this made the mystery girl, that much more mysterious and, in Veronica's eyes, dangerous.

Veronica knew that her father, Hiram, could be behind the shooting. The shooter had been masked, and Hiram always used other people to do this kind of dirty work. Fred had been close with her mother, Hermione, and Veronica's father wasn't one to let go of things easily. He could very well have hired the shooter from his cell, to send yet another message. That he didn't like Hermione of Fred's actions.

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Cheryl grinned with mirth in her eyes. Veronica nodded and turned to Betty, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Well…" Betty trailed off as she spoke. "Okay. It's about Archie, and he's one of my best friends. Let's do this." Veronica smiled and stood in the middle of the hallway, holding out each arm for the two girls. Cheryl walked to Veronica's left and looped their arms together, while Betty did the same on Veronica's right.

"The ice queen is ready to freeze a girl out." Veronica smirked and stalked down the hall, her heels clicking. Betty and Cheryl followed closely. Once they reached the girl at the end of the hall she stood alone. The girl was wearing the same hat and jacket as the night before. Dark evergreen slouchy hat, leather jacket with a wolf on the back, howling at the moon. It was on full display since her back was to the three Riverdale girls.

Veronica cleared her throat and the girl turned to face them. Veronica took in hat girl and what she looked like, since she hadn't seen her face much the night before. The girl had curly dark hair that stopped just under her chin. She wasn't skinny, but she wasn't fat either. She looked soft and curvy. The way a mother might look. She was of average height and she had a round face and pink cheeks. Her eyes were hooded, wide and held a mischievous glint in them. They were a dark brown that contained some flecks of hazel, and as Veronica watched, they seemed to change colors.

"Can I help you?" She asked of the three girls in front of her, causing Veronica to snap out of her examination. "Wait, weren't you two at Pop's last night? With Archie, right?" she questioned Betty and Veronica. Veronica responded first.

"Yes, we were, and we'd like to know how exactly you know him, and about his dad." Veronica's voice held a 'no nonsense' tone, and she was channeling all her ice into her voice. The girl had a set of dimples appear, and she hooked her thumbs into the loops on her jeans as she spoke again.

"I guess that makes you Veronica Lodge. Blond means Betty Cooper, hi by the way, and that just leaves you." She turned to face the girl on Veronica's left; "Red hair, and a very expensive outfit? You must be Cheryl Blossom." She tilted her head to the side in curiosity as Veronica gaped like a fish for a moment before regaining her composure.

"How do you know who we are? You've been here what, a day?" Veronica was getting her list of questions ready when a male voice came wafting down the hall.

"Wisteria!? Where are you?"

"Turn to your six o'clock and you'll see me at the end of the hall, talking to an ice queen and her... detectives." The girl responded to the shout with a smirk aimed at Veronica.

Veronica glared at the girl who responded to the name Wisteria. Footsteps came from behind Veronica, Cheryl, and Betty, and they turned. Betty let out a strange sound when she saw Jughead… with two others?

One looked nearly identical to the girl with the hat, and the boy looked like them both. And they had faces of upset when they saw the three Riverdale girls surrounding the girl in the hat, Wisteria, who could only be their sister.

Wisteria leaned back on her heels when she spotted Jughead with her siblings, and she made a mental note to ask about that later. But for now, the three newcomers had reached the group of girls.

Thorn broke through Veronica and Cheryl, as that was the only way he could get past them, since they blocked off the hall. To Thorn, it looked like the three girls had backed his sister into a corner, and were trying to scare her.

Calla-Lily followed her brother, instantly appearing at her sister's left side. Next to each other, and in full light, they were clearly identical twins. One could only tell them apart by looking at their hair, and clothes. Thorn flanked Wisteria on her right, and glared down the Riverdale Vixens.

As for Jughead?

Betty was watching him, hoping he'd come to help her and Veronica deal with these strangers in their town. But he broke through Betty and Veronica's arms and stood next to Thorn, his face as drawn in as it had looked on his birthday, and Betty felt her heart crack.

Veronica looked at her best friend's face, and saw the sadness hidden behind those green doe eyes, and she turned to face the four people in front of her, when Cheryl finally decided to speak up.

"Well, well. Three new faces, and our precious Juggy. Don't you all look the united front. Dark and brooding, all leather and horrible hats." She sneered, looping her hair around a finger as she spoke. Veronica smirked crookedly and took Betty's hand, before placing her opposite one on her hip.

"Nice to see you again Jughead. So glad to see that you haven't gone completely AWOL on your loyalties." When this emerged from Veronica's lips, Jughead couldn't help but scoff and roll his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Wisteria beat him to the punch. She'd been looking at her Calla-Lily, doing their weird twin connection thing, before she glanced at her older brother and his eyes. They were hard, and cold. The way they got whenever he needed to protect, which meant that since Orchid wasn't here, and Calla-Lily and Wisteria were right beside him, he was protective of Jughead.

"Veronica Lodge." Wisteria's voice sliced straight through whatever Jughead had been about to say, whatever Betty had been about to spew, and through Veronica's train of thought.

She took one step in front of her siblings, and she saw them close the ranks behind her using Jughead. She took another purposeful step towards Veronica, and another until she was toe-to-toe with the Latina girl. She leaned in, making said girl a little uncomfortable, before she turned her head to hiss out a dangerous statement in her ear, soft enough to make every syllable feel dangerous, and clear enough that it radiated down the hall.

"You're the ice queen, and I'd like you to meet your newest foe. I'm the flame. Anything you freeze, I'll burn. Anywhere that you leave frostbite, I'll be there to give back sensation. Don't test me Ms Lodge. You've just met the Woods."


End file.
